Jan. 16
10:34 am JST

It's sad, but due to Japanese racism, interest in sumo of late has been propped up only because of a Japanese yokozuna. They better find another one quickly to promote prematurely.

Actually, I am not so sure about that.

While obviously having a strong, enthusiastic Japanese yokozuna helps the sport, what I think fans crave, more than anything else, are strong, competitive rikishi engaging in awesome matches. And that is especially true at the sanyaku level.

Most Japanese sumo fans I know really love and respect Hakuho, even though he is Mongolian. It is because he is passionate, respects the sport, and respects those before him, none more than Taiho!

What they crave is basho after basho of at least 3 or 4 strong rikishi constantly battling it out for the yusho. Of course, the idea of a native Japanese yokozuna being in the mix is very appealing, but what they want, more than anything, is a vibrant, competitive sport, with rikishi that they can actually support, whether Japanese or non-Japanese.

For the record, my Japanese father-in-law, who is retired and living in the chiho, loves Hakuho and thinks he is more of a traditional Japanese rikishi of old than the Japanese rikishi of today.

Jan. 16
11:57 am JST

He was never very good or deserving of being Yokozuna. He was just a token to give people some national pride after a Mongolian broke their Sumo record. They forced out Asashoryu, best Sumo wrestler of his generation before he broke it, but they still couldn't stop progress!

It is no different than the J-baseball league not allowing foreigners to break Japanese records, or Nissan being taken over by a foreign company!

Takanohana (or Koji Hanada if you prefer) may have found a bully pulpit to complain about his pet peeve of too much influence by foreigners in sumo.

Jan. 16
10:53 am JST

He was a great Ozeki.

It's sad, but due to Japanese racism, interest in sumo of late has been propped up only because of a Japanese yokozuna.

I agree with zones2surf on this, its completely incorrect. Of course one would have to be blind to miss the underlying racial motivations surrounding Kisenosato's promotion and some (many) fan's views on that. But its not true at all that sumo's popularity was being propped up by that, attendance has been strong for years dating back to way before Kisenosato became Yokozuna and during an era when Japanese wrestlers weren't winning championships at all let alone making Yokozuna.

Media attention tends to swell a bit when a Japanese wrestler wins the championship or gets promoted, but most fans don't seem to care about the nationality of the wrestlers they are watching.

Jan. 16
06:42 pm JST

Jan. 16
10:39 am JST

I realize that this article is about the fall of Kisenosato, however the part about women being "ritually unclean" is the part that I will remember. So much of Japan is controlled by the oyaji blue bloods and sumo is no different. Kisenosato is mearly the latest victim of such thinking. Hope he can rise above.

Jan. 16
11:53 am JST

Jan. 16
12:37 pm JST

Wakanohana back in the day was a better Ozeki and even he crumbled under Yokozuna promotion. It's a hard level to attain and maintain which should garner more respect for the position. Kisenosato's promotion was unfortunately just wishful thinking.

You'd think with the former Takanohana around, a former Yokozuna himself and younger brother to Wakanohana, the JSA would have learned that lesson

Jan. 16
04:20 pm JST

Really? He won 1 tournament as a Yokozuna and after that it was literally all down hill from there. Pray tell of any other yokozuna in recent history that came even close to having a worse showing in less of a time?

Futahaguro beats him hands down as worst Yokozuna ever. His resume:

Zero tournament wins before or after promotion;

Lasted eight mediocre tournaments as Yokozuna before being forcibly retired after an argument in which he hit his stablemaster's wife.

Jan. 16
09:00 pm JST

rainyday agree.

Compared to the Kisenosato "wink-wink" sudden Yokozuna promtion, Futahaguro's rise was an example of a JSA venture into incestuous chaos.

From all accounts Kisenosato was a nice guy, a nice ozeki but never really Yokozuna material. Futahaguro was known as Not a nice guy, who relied on his youthful exuberance to move up, but quickly slid down the slope after his "false" promotion.

WIthout doubt the worst yokozuna ever. An embarrassment to the sumo world with all the blame at the feet of the JSA.

Jan. 16
09:11 pm JST

Jan. 16
09:58 am JST

It wasn't hard to see this coming after yesterday. Now, without a Japanese Yokozuna and the scandals of last year, watch sumo interest decline greatly. It's sad, but due to Japanese racism, interest in sumo of late has been propped up only because of a Japanese yokozuna. They better find another one quickly to promote prematurely.

Jan. 16
11:32 am JST

This news may turn out to be just a distraction from the main event, which is the rebellion being fomented by former stablemaster Takanohana, who's been dominating the news cycle more than the politicians of late. The latest tabloid headline predicts he's on the verge of establishing a "new religion" based on Shinto, with him as the leader. Takanohana (or Koji Hanada if you prefer) may have found a bully pulpit to complain about his pet peeve of too much influence by foreigners in sumo.

Jan. 16
01:58 pm JST

Not the worst Yokozuna, but certainly bad. Certainly an example of a double standard.

Really? He won 1 tournament as a Yokozuna and after that it was literally all down hill from there. Pray tell of any other yokozuna in recent history that came even close to having a worse showing in less of a time?

Jan. 16
06:34 pm JST

I would add that Kisenosato was not only pulling in the highest salary despite his string of non-appearances, but each time he lost another bout, the association had to fork over a princely sum to his opponent as a "kinboshi" bonus. So just keeping him on the payroll was a money-losing proposition.

Jan. 16
10:32 am JST

Bye bye, Yokozuna Kisenosato. It is regrettable to retire, but injuries prevented him being better. He will become a Stable Master now and manage his own team of wrestlers. His status as Yokozuna will stay with him forever. I hope JSA can promote another Japanese to Yokozuna very soon.

-10
(
+2
/
-12
)

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.